


Adjustments

by MagicQuill42



Series: Cinderpatton Shorts [6]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Fish out of Water, Getting Lost, Period Typical Attitudes, bonding with your brother in law
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22758274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicQuill42/pseuds/MagicQuill42
Summary: Thomas wouldn't call himself a small-town boy. Not really. His "town"- really his entire world- had consisted of one cottage and one other person until fairly recently. So going from that to a gigantic palace with a full staff and a country full of people who want to call him by another name... leads to a couple growing pains.
Series: Cinderpatton Shorts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633882
Kudos: 12





	Adjustments

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by isabel3710 on tumblr!
> 
> Probably the last prompt I'll accept from the askblog for a bit, since I want it to be more ask-focused. ^^;; Prompts are always welcome on @quillfics42 though!

“Prince Paris!”   
Thomas turned, trying to cover his grimace with an awkward smile. “Um, I go by Thomas, actually.”  
“Right yes, of course.” The courtesan said, with the kind of smile an adult got when they were placating a silly child. “Prince Thomas. I was hoping to get a comment from you regarding the king’s new field tax?”  
Thomas bit his lip and shrugged. “Uh… I suppose I trust my brother’s judgement? I don’t know a whole lot about farming.”  
“So you agree that lowering such a thing is absolutely ludicrous?” He courtesan demanded.   
“Uh.”  
Thomas glanced towards the door and swallowed hard.  
“I trust my brother. Whatever he’s decided is meant to be for the good of the kingdom.” He said uneasily. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m supposed to meet prince Patton for lunch.”  
“Oh I just have a few more questions-”  
“I’m already quite late, thank you!”   
Thomas gave them another smile and tried not to look like he was running away. That was the fourth member of the court to attack him with politics this week alone! And the twelfth to call him “Paris” rather than his actual name…   
Not that he was keeping track or anything. He just wondered how long it would take for them to get the hint. He was Thomas, not Paris. And Thomas knew absolutely zilch about politics. He knew Roman was trying, though, so he would usually default to the ‘I trust my brother implicitly’ line, since it wasn’t exactly a lie. He did trust Roman implicitly. Almost as much as he trusted Remy, which was saying something, considering.   
Saying he had to meet Prince Patton for lunch wasn’t a lie, either. Nor was saying he was already late. They’d made plans to meet at eleven, which was about an hour ago now. It wasn’t Thomas’ fault, though! First he’d overslept, then he’d had to wrangle himself into one of those garments- which he could never figure out cause of all those strings- and then in his panic he’d taken a wrong turn or fifty and- well it just wasn’t his fault that this castle was so big, okay?   
His old cottage had been simple. Kitchen, sitting room, two bedrooms, and small bathroom. Easy. Cozy. Everything two steps away from being in arm’s reach. But here? Here he couldn’t even get to the sunroom on his own without getting horribly turned around.   
...And what even was a sunroom anyway?  
“Prince Thomas?”   
Thomas whirled again, just grateful they used his real name. “Yes?”  
The maid (at least he thinks she’s a maid) gave him a small curtsey. “The Prince-Consort asked for me to fetch you, Your Grace.”  
Thomas let out a sigh of relief. “Thank the stars. Um, if you don’t mind, could you take me back to where he is? I think I’m a little lost.”  
She curtsied again. “As you command, Your Grace.”  
“Oh no it’s not a command!” Thomas said hurriedly. “And just Thomas is fine, really.”  
“With all due respect, Your Grace; if the housekeeper catches me referring to you with such familiarity I may lose my job. Shall we depart?”   
Thomas nodded and she started walking, heading in the exact opposite direction that Thomas had been aimlessly wandering towards. Because of course.   
“Why would you lose your job?” Thomas asked, trying to match her clipped pace. “Toby and Emile call us by our names. What makes you different?”  
“The cook and tutor have known the King all his life,” she explained. “Longer than even the housekeeper herself. She could no more put them out of a job than she could divert a river from it’s bed.”  
Thomas wrinkled his nose. “Well that doesn’t seem right…”  
“It’s the way of things, Your Grace.”  
“Is there anything that stops me from using your name?”  
She paused a little. “No, sire.”  
“Well- um- what’s your name, then?”  
“...Dahlia, Your Grace.”  
Thomas smiled. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Dahlia.”  
She smiled back. “You as well, Prince Thomas.”  
Thomas beamed and thanked her. They chatted for a little longer before she opened a door in front of him and curtsied.   
“The sunroom, Your Grace.”  
“Thanks again,” he said. “And good luck at the cobbler’s!”  
He stepped through the door, taking a moment to marvel at the room with walls entirely made of glass. There were leafy plants in pots all over, matching the trees outside and creating the illusion that they weren’t inside at all, though they were protected from all elements but the sunshine, which filtered through the transparent ceiling almost as green as the leaves.   
And framed by an arch covered in wysteria was a small table for two, all set for tea with a bemused brother in law seated at it.  
“Patton!” Thomas exclaimed. “I’m so so sorry, I just- I got lost- the castle’s so big, you know- and then this courtesan cornered me and-”  
“It’s okay!” Patton held up his hands with a warm smile. “I figured something like that happened, that’s why I asked Dahlia to fetch you. I would have gone myself but…” He looked around covertly before leaning in closer to Thomas and whispering. “Between you and me I get lost all the time.”  
Thomas collapsed into the chair across from him. “Oh thank goodness! It’s not just me, then?”  
Patton shook his head. “Not by a longshot. There’s so many twists and turns here!”  
“So many!” Thomas agreed. “And there’s rooms for things I didn’t even know you needed rooms for. Like they have an entire room just for laundry? I always just did that in the kitchen!”  
“But if you bring it up to Roman he looks scandalized!” Patton laughs.   
“I don’t think Remy even knows how laundry gets done.”  
Patton snorted. “Oh probably not. I always tried to grab his before he woke up. He probably thinks his clothes just disappear and come back clean.”  
“Yikes.” Thomas chuckled. “Spoiled rich boys, huh?”  
“Spoiled rich boys.” Patton agreed with a laugh. “I’m just glad to finally have someone who gets it.”  
“Me too.” Thomas smiled warmly. “Me too.”


End file.
